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About this blog: I've been attracted to food for good and bad reasons for many years. From eating disorder to east coast culinary school, food has been my passion, profession & nemesis. I've been a sugar addict, a 17-year vegetarian, a food and en... (More)

About this blog: I've been attracted to food for good and bad reasons for many years. From eating disorder to east coast culinary school, food has been my passion, profession & nemesis. I've been a sugar addict, a 17-year vegetarian, a food and environment pioneer, macrobiotic, Master Cleanser, ayurvedic, and officially-designated health-nut or party-girl (depending on the year). Professionally, I've worn many industry hats including: line cook, corporate chef, Food Coach, caterer, product developer, restaurant reviewer, culinary school teacher, corporate wellness educator, food co-op clerk, author, and even Cirque-du-Soleil lead popcorn concessioner! For years I managed an outdoor kitchen, deep in the bear-infested woods of Tahoe, and also for hospitals (the most unhealthy kitchen I ever worked in?), Singapore high-rises, mule-pack trips, Canadian catholic rectories, and more events than I could ever recall. Yet I still keep discovering. Actually, I adapt everyday by new lessons learned from teachers, customers and students. However there is one food truth I now hold sacrosanct: Eaters are motivated by pleasure. So no matter what we discuss here - recipes or restaurants, food politics or pairings, local events, food as art, or even as God, I will always come from a high-vibe, party perspective. Oh I do still long to change the world with great tasting food, but know in my heart, "If it ain't fun, it don't get done!" So - wanna come to the Food Party? By the way - it's a potluck. (Hide)

Who’s Got Take-Out or Senior Grocery Hours?

Uploaded: Mar 18, 2020

Whose got take out? Support your local restaurants. Tip well when you go.

Call to place your order (some take online orders), keep 6 feet distance from others when you pick up, and pay ahead, or consider holding onto your credit card to process, rather than handing the card to the cashier, or using cash.

Draegers needs to step up, too. Without the now-seniors who've supported this business since they were youngsters, would Draegers now have 4 stores?

Do seniors (or anyone) who per Draegers' new instructions must bring their own gloves & sanitizer, want to wait outside while Draegers monitors the number of shoppers allowed in the store at any one time?

Draegers looks quit tone-deaf again, as they have in the past when declining to contribute to various kids' school & sports fund-raising efforts.

Members of the local Nextdoor.com wish to support restaurants offering take-out, and restaurants have been posting that take-out is available. I started this Nextdoor.com thread to call attention to your column. You'll also want to browse Nextdoor.com for restaurants and other threads about take-out options. Thanks!

Safeway doesn't appear to have company-wide policy. I went to the one @ Sequoia Station @7:30 today, Thursday, & all age groups were there. The store'd been open since 6 am.

Across the street, Whole Foods was limiting access to seniors between 8-9 am.

Trader Joe's had a big line waiting to enter because, like Draegers, they allow only a certain # of shoppers inside at a time. Yawn. Unlike some stores, Walgreen's limits the number of paper towels rolls, TP, etc., to 2 of each item. Good for them! A woman behind me had 8 rolls of paper towels & the cashier let her buy only 2.

Posted by Reader X,
a resident of Another Mountain View Neighborhood,
on Mar 19, 2020 at 12:09 pm

Note that Whole Foods senior-only access is one hour before the store's normal opening time. Some stores open earlier than others (Cupertino normally opens at 8am, many stores on the South Peninsula normally open at 9am). If you're not sure, go online to the Whole Foods website and look at the store locator. One may want to call the phone to confirm they have senior hours.

Piazza's in South Palo Alto does not have a special seniors-only time, but they are giving seniors priority at the check stand in the first hour, 7am-8am.

The point here is to CALL first. The situation is very fluid right now. Things are happening faster than the Internet can keep track of in a timely manner.

Posted by Rick,
a resident of Adobe-Meadow,
on Mar 20, 2020 at 10:34 am

I have a feeling that our grocery stores are major vectors for coronavirus. I was shopping early this morning and noted that, while the staff was all wearing gloves, they were happily transferring pathogens from one customer to another since there wAs -no- disinfecting going on between customers. The Pin pads were also not being disinfected. On top of that there were many people wearing N95 masks that do them almost no good, and take critical supplies away from health care workers. Want to bet that they reuse the mask multiple times thus re-infecting themselves?

Posted by CrescentParkAnon.,
a resident of Crescent Park,
on Mar 20, 2020 at 2:44 pm

Maybe beside every Pin-Pad or Touch-Screen should be a container of wipes and a small trash container.
Relying on trusting stores or individuals to do it right 100% of the time just put the power in the hands
or the consumer.

Posted by Laura Stec,
a resident of Portola Valley,
on Mar 20, 2020 at 2:49 pm

I agree CPA that the responsibility has to rest with us for best protection. The folks in the grocery stores are putting themselves at risk by just being there. We have to be supportive of them and do OUR part to insure OUR safety. I think e the grocery workers are superheroes. I wish we could get them masks, but we don't even have enough masks for our health care folks.

Posted by All household in risk groups,
a resident of Another Palo Alto neighborhood,
on Mar 21, 2020 at 5:55 pm

Hi Laura,
Thanks for the lists! Can you please also include information on what age they count as a senior (it's different from place to place)?

I would love to also know about Smart and Final and any other senior hours anywhere else. DH went to the WF senior hours and said it was much less crowded (thanks everyone!) Also, please can you leave some TP, we figured we had TP when things started so we were letting everyone else stock up, but it's never let up, and we're getting close to empty.

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